I didn’t watch much of the ASG. I’m just over the mic’d up stuff. It’s just so banal and cheesy. They must be getting some good reviews on it, but not from me.
You nailed it again, Joe! The Fox baseball games are too painful to watch because of their announcers. One of the myriad reasons corporate baseball has killed my love of the game.
I mostly agree with you about the Fox soccer team. Stuart Holden talks too much! Their studio team is perfect!. I love watching Premier League Mornings just for Rebecca and the 2 Robbies. She is ideal to get Zlatan and Thierry to open up.
I have been waiting for someone to notice Herrera’s HBP count and am surprised it took Joe until the All-Star break to see it. It seems like he’s a magnet for HBPs!
Let's also address the elephant in the room: Alex Rodriguez is a broadcaster for Fox and Barry Bonds is working for Netflix. Two "banned" players sharing insight. Especially interesting choice for Bonds to be there for the homerun derby; not because he's known for winning it in 1996, but because of that other homerun controversy. (And unfortunately Alex can be entertaining when he's with David Ortiz, because both of them like to rile up the consummate professional Derek Jeter.)
In addition to the horrible Fox announcers—who always make me think they have been instructed to call the game specifically for people who do NOT like baseball—I hate (1) the long interludes dedicated to some charity or other and (2) the constant unsubtle plugs for other offerings of the network ("And here in the stands is the star of the new hit Fox series . . . !").
Great insight on the announcers. I watch Yankee games religiously and it feels like Michael Kay is paid by the amount of numbers he says. Listen to a game, if you can bare it, I believe he swallows a math text book prior to each game and just regurgitates the numbers.
Funny thing is I am a numbers guy, but it is, to me, painful. When he is off and replaced by Ryan Ruocco the games are much more enjoyable.
I can't believe that after spending so much time talking about jumpy cameras at the home run derby, there is no mention of the audio difficulties of the established network. In the pregame, when they ere talking to someone in the dugout, and the dugout part was unintelligible mumbling, I figured it was a temporary problem and the would fix it promptly. Then, they just didn't.
I did notice you mentioned the late game conversation with PCA, which was notable because it was the first conversation with a player that I heard both sides of the entire game. (It was still tinny and at a low volume, but I could hear it.) Particularly fun was the entire inning of Cease and the catcher, where you could hear the announcers responding (they could hear it fine, apparently) but not the pitcher catcher conversation, which might have been interesting.
After reading much about the failings of Netflix because of jumpy cameras or a minute of juddering towards the end, I read nothing (anywhere really) about the fundamental failure of a major network using last century technology.
This makes me wonder if people are being fairly critical, or just yelling about change?
I actually like the fact that if your pitcher makes the all star team, chances are he actually gets to pitch. Call them monsters if you wish, if you are one of the best, it might be more fun to pitch than to hang out in the bullpen all night.
In the larger scheme of things, it is kind of funny to be yearning for the offense of 1976, when teams averaged 3.99 runs per game. In fact, in the 10 years from 1976-1985 (this is kind of my prime youth baseball fan era) teams score 4.25 runs per game. The last 10 it is 4.54, with a low (4.28) above that average. There are more runs now. Too many to complain about pitching robots.
Yeah, I would prefer bigger parks, leading to more attempts at getting base hits (maybe even triples) rather than home runs.(However, any time the home run numbers go down there are a plethora of articles about the lack of offense - and that definitely includes this space.
I would like starters to be worth what they once were, more fundamentals and less TTO, more two strike approach and less 2 strike home run swings that miss by a foot. Perhaps less pitching max effort to stop the ever rising number of major arm injuries. More balls in play. (The reduction of which is as much about hitters not caring whether or not they strike out as it is the pitchers.)
But they don't score less runs, and they aren't helpless against the pitchers as a whole. The game has adjusted to the changes in it. I do wish there were more action plays in a game. But in the end, the offense prevails.
I'm not following the last sentence. It seems that we have been at equilibrium for a long period covering the lives of every poster here with two exceptions - Deadball v 2 in the 60s and Seligball in the 90s/00s. Runs per game fluctuating in a pretty narrow window between approximately 8.5 and 9. That seems to me that neither offense nor defense prevails but rather that each and every action supporting one side has a counterreaction that ends up back in the same place with R/G.
I guess I said that offense still prevails in response to the article's seeming position that pitcher warlocks have made the game all about pitching, when in the end, despite all the changes, we are scoring about 7% more runs than that prime memory era for me (and Joe).
So yeah, maybe I should have said baseball prevails.
A-Rod, Ortiz and Jeter are the Unholy Trinity of baseball pre-game "analysts." They are horrible.
Fox Sports' primary mission is to dumb down any sport they broadcast (NFL, MLB, college football, soccer, college basketball) to better appeal to the lowest common denominator viewer.
I tuned in last night to watch the rosters and lineups being announced (do that ever year) and listened to a couple of innings. Maybe I'm wrong, but Cease sounded as though the last thing he wanted to do was chat with Joe Davis and Smoltz.
Loved the Philly fans boo almost everyone except Trout and the Phillie players. Next year, it'll be any Cardinal, White Sox or Brewers players being announced.
As a Nationals fan I was very pleasantly surprised to hear Smoltz say that they were building something and that it was coming and it was good. That being said, he's awful. He's soulless and comes just across as the annoying guy who knows JUST not enough to make it fun.
All of the national announcers, btw, are awful. There are fun announcers for every team - do what Peacock does and have the local guy for the home team team-up with the color guy for the road team. Those are fun games.
I’ve not seen this suggested elsewhere, but I’d like to entertain the idea of a speed limit on pitches. There are so many ways to go about it, exceptions you could make, etc… And I have no idea if it would work. But it seems like a rule that limits the strain pitchers put on their body might lead to better health and more interesting games. I think it would be a fun experiment, and I think it will never happen.
I didn’t watch much of the ASG. I’m just over the mic’d up stuff. It’s just so banal and cheesy. They must be getting some good reviews on it, but not from me.
You nailed it again, Joe! The Fox baseball games are too painful to watch because of their announcers. One of the myriad reasons corporate baseball has killed my love of the game.
I mostly agree with you about the Fox soccer team. Stuart Holden talks too much! Their studio team is perfect!. I love watching Premier League Mornings just for Rebecca and the 2 Robbies. She is ideal to get Zlatan and Thierry to open up.
I have been waiting for someone to notice Herrera’s HBP count and am surprised it took Joe until the All-Star break to see it. It seems like he’s a magnet for HBPs!
It will never happen but I say only let winners of the Ford Frick award call the All Star game.
Even those who have retired would likely be honored to get to call the game.
It would allow national exposure for some truly great local announcers people should get to hear.
And imagine Bob Costas calling a game with Tom Hamilton....lots of baseball knowledge and joy in that broadcast booth!
I would love for Denny Matthews to get the chance! LETS GO ROYALS!
Let's also address the elephant in the room: Alex Rodriguez is a broadcaster for Fox and Barry Bonds is working for Netflix. Two "banned" players sharing insight. Especially interesting choice for Bonds to be there for the homerun derby; not because he's known for winning it in 1996, but because of that other homerun controversy. (And unfortunately Alex can be entertaining when he's with David Ortiz, because both of them like to rile up the consummate professional Derek Jeter.)
If I think about Bonds on the opening game show at Oracle this year explaining why he was the greatest teammate of all time, I throw up in my mouth.
A lot.
In addition to the horrible Fox announcers—who always make me think they have been instructed to call the game specifically for people who do NOT like baseball—I hate (1) the long interludes dedicated to some charity or other and (2) the constant unsubtle plugs for other offerings of the network ("And here in the stands is the star of the new hit Fox series . . . !").
Great insight on the announcers. I watch Yankee games religiously and it feels like Michael Kay is paid by the amount of numbers he says. Listen to a game, if you can bare it, I believe he swallows a math text book prior to each game and just regurgitates the numbers.
Funny thing is I am a numbers guy, but it is, to me, painful. When he is off and replaced by Ryan Ruocco the games are much more enjoyable.
Should they have let the Pope wear that Signed Konerko Jersey and throw out the first pitch?
Seems like Joe has the subject for his next book, Why We Now Hate Baseball.
Joe, I couldn’t agree more about your critique of baseball on FOX TV.
Television announcing in general is bad, but these guys take it to another level.
Whatever happened to good old play by play announcing?
Listen to an old broadcast by Vin Skully or others of his era.
They called the action on the screen. The count, the number of outs, runners on, defensive alignments were not mystery’s.
I would prefer that to listening to what sounds like two guys on bar stools.
Maybe that’s why everyone became so nostalgic when Vin Skully passed.
I can't believe that after spending so much time talking about jumpy cameras at the home run derby, there is no mention of the audio difficulties of the established network. In the pregame, when they ere talking to someone in the dugout, and the dugout part was unintelligible mumbling, I figured it was a temporary problem and the would fix it promptly. Then, they just didn't.
I did notice you mentioned the late game conversation with PCA, which was notable because it was the first conversation with a player that I heard both sides of the entire game. (It was still tinny and at a low volume, but I could hear it.) Particularly fun was the entire inning of Cease and the catcher, where you could hear the announcers responding (they could hear it fine, apparently) but not the pitcher catcher conversation, which might have been interesting.
After reading much about the failings of Netflix because of jumpy cameras or a minute of juddering towards the end, I read nothing (anywhere really) about the fundamental failure of a major network using last century technology.
This makes me wonder if people are being fairly critical, or just yelling about change?
I actually like the fact that if your pitcher makes the all star team, chances are he actually gets to pitch. Call them monsters if you wish, if you are one of the best, it might be more fun to pitch than to hang out in the bullpen all night.
In the larger scheme of things, it is kind of funny to be yearning for the offense of 1976, when teams averaged 3.99 runs per game. In fact, in the 10 years from 1976-1985 (this is kind of my prime youth baseball fan era) teams score 4.25 runs per game. The last 10 it is 4.54, with a low (4.28) above that average. There are more runs now. Too many to complain about pitching robots.
Yeah, I would prefer bigger parks, leading to more attempts at getting base hits (maybe even triples) rather than home runs.(However, any time the home run numbers go down there are a plethora of articles about the lack of offense - and that definitely includes this space.
I would like starters to be worth what they once were, more fundamentals and less TTO, more two strike approach and less 2 strike home run swings that miss by a foot. Perhaps less pitching max effort to stop the ever rising number of major arm injuries. More balls in play. (The reduction of which is as much about hitters not caring whether or not they strike out as it is the pitchers.)
But they don't score less runs, and they aren't helpless against the pitchers as a whole. The game has adjusted to the changes in it. I do wish there were more action plays in a game. But in the end, the offense prevails.
I'm not following the last sentence. It seems that we have been at equilibrium for a long period covering the lives of every poster here with two exceptions - Deadball v 2 in the 60s and Seligball in the 90s/00s. Runs per game fluctuating in a pretty narrow window between approximately 8.5 and 9. That seems to me that neither offense nor defense prevails but rather that each and every action supporting one side has a counterreaction that ends up back in the same place with R/G.
I guess I said that offense still prevails in response to the article's seeming position that pitcher warlocks have made the game all about pitching, when in the end, despite all the changes, we are scoring about 7% more runs than that prime memory era for me (and Joe).
So yeah, maybe I should have said baseball prevails.
A-Rod, Ortiz and Jeter are the Unholy Trinity of baseball pre-game "analysts." They are horrible.
Fox Sports' primary mission is to dumb down any sport they broadcast (NFL, MLB, college football, soccer, college basketball) to better appeal to the lowest common denominator viewer.
I tuned in last night to watch the rosters and lineups being announced (do that ever year) and listened to a couple of innings. Maybe I'm wrong, but Cease sounded as though the last thing he wanted to do was chat with Joe Davis and Smoltz.
Loved the Philly fans boo almost everyone except Trout and the Phillie players. Next year, it'll be any Cardinal, White Sox or Brewers players being announced.
Can't wait for the season to recommence!
Also, if you are going to mic the players, turn the volume up!
The sound mixing was really bad.
As a Nationals fan I was very pleasantly surprised to hear Smoltz say that they were building something and that it was coming and it was good. That being said, he's awful. He's soulless and comes just across as the annoying guy who knows JUST not enough to make it fun.
All of the national announcers, btw, are awful. There are fun announcers for every team - do what Peacock does and have the local guy for the home team team-up with the color guy for the road team. Those are fun games.
I’ve not seen this suggested elsewhere, but I’d like to entertain the idea of a speed limit on pitches. There are so many ways to go about it, exceptions you could make, etc… And I have no idea if it would work. But it seems like a rule that limits the strain pitchers put on their body might lead to better health and more interesting games. I think it would be a fun experiment, and I think it will never happen.